Rave reviews for Regional Business Partners

By Otago Chamber of Commerce | Posted: Sunday December 6, 2020

RBP clients over the moon for support that went above and beyond and has been a huge help. It is difficult to quantify just how valuable the impact has been.

Funded by NZTE and Callaghan Innovation, the Regional Business Partners Network is delivered by the Otago Chamber of Commerce. During COVID-19, the Otago RBP Team have delivered advice and support to over 1500 businesses and allocated over $3.4 million of funding for businesses to access advice and support. Hear how RBP provided businesses hope and support through Covid-19.

"Since Covid-19 arrived and the subsequent shut down for all but non essential businesses/services we have been living in extremely uncertain times.

As a business owner, primarily in tourism, having three months of our predicted highest income cut was devastating. When I first heard about the Regional Business Partner funding I applied immediately, but funding had already been allocated. I was over the moon when we got contacted to say there was extra funding and we qualified. Amanda contacted us and her professional knowledge of our type of business was fantastic. Over the phone on our first meeting she gave me a few project ideas.

The first being adding our listing to Tourism NZ website. Secondly working towards a Qualmark rating. And thirdly our digital presence. These were all things that I had “meant” to get to, but as I was so busy working in the business I didn’t have any time to dedicate to this. We have engaged a company to help us with a digital marketing strategy thanks to the grant. Amanda’s help will take our business to the next level and we are extremely grateful to be a recipient." - Meredith Kerrisk (Dunstan House)

"The Regional Business Partnership funding we have received has been a huge help to our business. Rather than us investing a little bit here and there, it has enabled us to look at our business as a whole and make more significant changes in a much shorter period of time.

Due to the funding, we have been able to utilise the services of consultants that may otherwise have been out of our budget at this stage in our business. It has been a big advantage to be able to draw upon their talent and advice, essentially saving ourselves potentially wasted hours, funds and resources on less effective methods.

We are excited to see the results of the funding rollout and know for certain that our business has been springboarded at least 6-12 months ahead of where it would otherwise have been. Thank you!" - Sam (A Sensory Journey)

"It is actually quite difficult to quantify just how valuable the impact of the support and funding from the RBP program has been for my fledgling business administration business.

Right from the start of the process of applying for RBP funding, the communication, ease of the process and encouragement from the RBP team was an empowering and confidence boosting process.

My amazing Growth Advisor Amanda really drilled down into my business which forced me to clearly articulate my business needs/goals and narrow my focus on where to start ‘eating the elephant’ in defining what support I needed to ensure business success as a start-up.

Once funding was approved, vouchers were issued to my chosen RBP providers within days. Most critically, the structure and stages in which the funding was introduced enabled me to fully concentrate on each crucial piece of work required.

The RBP funding has empowered me to set up solid structures and foundations, ensuring my business will be a stable, viable long term proposition.

I can’t thank Amanda, Cara, Sarah, Tara and the wider RBP team enough for their insight, advice and encouragement. The incredible funding I have received around marketing, branding, business/financial planning and HR support to create SLA’s etc is the cherry on top of the cake!

If you are considering starting an application, don’t delay – the support you receive is life changing!" – Danni McConnell (Calm the Chaos)

"We applied for the funding and were lucky to have Amanda assigned to our company to assist in finding the right person to help us pivot our business. Amanda put in so much thought and effort into helping us find the right fit for our business, she went above and beyond! The follow up from Amanda was also outstanding. We have started working with Trish May who could not be a more perfect fit for us. The funding has helped us to dive into our business and understand how we can become more efficient. We are also in the process of developing a new marketing strategy. We are super grateful for the opportunity to have been granted the funding." – Renee Brown (Host my Home)

"My business, based in the Queenstown CBD, with 93% internationally sourced revenue, became severely impacted by the closure of international borders at the onset of the Covid 19 crisis.

As an owner-operator, I was able to move quickly in reducing operating overheads, but became somewhat overwhelmed by the rapid onset of significant unavoidable losses as revenue dropped to 15% of previous norms.

An alert through the Southern Response/Chamber Of Commerce website directed me to the Regional Business Programme, almost as a last resort to attempt to save my business.

From the initial response to my phone call, Tara was immediately proactive in setting up the necessary process to identify the channels best able to provide assistance to my specific problems. The resultant support in accounting, legal, & business planning has been extremely valuable in working towards a more sustainable business position, & although by no means fully resolved, if my business does survive, it will be in no small measure due to the help provided by Tara, Amanda & others in the Otago Regional Business Programme." - Miles Wilson (Champions Of The World)

The Otago Regional Business Partners team love helping local businesses - for more information about the RBP programme, please click here.